Far Away

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was hot.  And I don't mean your run of the mill Iowa summer day hot.  It was more like a deep southern mid-summer hot.  It was humid, sticky, sweaty and just an all out icky kind of heat where sane people tended to stay in one of two places.  Inside with the air conditioning running full blast or in the cool water of the pool that was only mere feet from me. 

Evidently, I am not one of those sane people.  While the sun bore down from its perch high in the sky, I stood by the pool house with tiny sweat beads dribbling down the center of my back.  

It was the afternoon of my own graduation party.  I should have been in the pool and living it up with my friends but instead I managed to escape the melee and hide myself in the shadows.  Why was I doing this you ask?  The answer is simple really.  I was hiding out like a creeper so I could privately spy on the one man whom repeatedly starred in all of my late night dreams; one very smoking hot and extremely sexy Rio Mendez.  

The same Rio that just so happened to be my brother's best friend.  Not only that, he is also the same man that I have crushed on hard over the last four years.  Even now my fingers itched to roam his hard, finely toned body.  His red lips were the type that begged to be kissed and when he gave me that smoldering look with his dark mocha eyes, I was always left weak and wanting for so much more.  Simply put, the man was potent sex bottled up nicely in one tight and rather fine looking package.  

I admit it.  I have it bad; real bad.  Now that I was Twenty-Two years old and a legal woman in every sense of the word, I wanted him even more.  The only problem was that he didn't see me as a woman.  He still saw me as his friend's kid sister. And I got to tell you, being the kid sister sucks. 

I couldn't help the small frown that appeared on my face when I finally spotted him standing by my brother.  Rio's attention seemed to be focused on a tall, lanky blond dressed in a barely there bikini.  Not to mention she was a very gorgeous, buxom blond that had legs I would personally die for.

Glancing down, I stared at my own sorry excuse for a chest  and wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all.  Why couldn't I have been blessed with just a fraction of her chest?  I wasn't greedy but something more than the speed bumps my mama gifted me with wouldn't have been too much to ask for, would it? 

Shaking my head, I sighed.  It was hopeless.  Rio would never  see me for anything more than Charlie's little sister.  I was four years younger than him and those four measly years might as well have been an entire life time between us.  

I wasn't stupid or naive. I knew that I would never have a real chance with a guy like him but it didn't stop my heart from wanting. 

"Bailey?" 

Hearing my name I jumped.  Spinning around I saw Jay standing behind me with his hands in his pockets.  I did my best to give him what I hoped was a sincere smile.  It wasn't his fault that the one man I longed for would never see me for the woman that I had finally become. 

Jay strode towards me and without a lick of hesitation he wrapped me up in one of his famous bear hugs.  I held on to him, soaking up the warm familiarity.

 Jay has known about my secret crush on Rio since we were freshman in high school.  He's never really said much about it. Instead he  tells me daily that any guy would be lucky to have me, including playboys like Rio.  That's what best friends are supposed to say though. It's sweet of him to support me but I know the truth.  I was so out of Rio's league it's not even funny.   

After what seemed like an eternity he set me back from him, keeping his hands on my shoulders and grinned.  "Are you going to explain to me what you are doing here all by your lonesome while there is a whole party going on out there just for you?"